At turns both exemplifying what is to be cherished in late twentieth century horror films and what is to be hated, Bordello of Blood's positive side wins out more often than not, but the result is an excellent film that has one too many scenes that might make you cringe for all the wrong reasons.(read more...)

It's understandable that Witchery didn't win any awards. Under a low-powered microscope, there are more than a handful of dialogue, logic and continuity problems, and there are some very bizarre performances (mainly Leslie Cummings, although personally, I enjoyed her ineffable weirdness). But as a whole, Witchery is not at all a bad film. It takes the right approach to the budget at its disposal, the premise is good and actually clever at times, it builds an effective if mild atmosphere and the special effects are respectable, even if half of the gore is only implied.(read more...)

Lost Souls is yet another film about demonic possession, the arrival of Satan on Earth in human form and a grand battle (at least spiritually, not special effects-wise) between good and evil. How many films have we seen about that subject matter? 250?

The "problem" is that it doesn't matter how many films we've seen about that subject matter-this is a damned good work of art. Even if the script wasn't excellent, and it is, even if the direction wasn't impeccable, and it is, you'd have to go see this film just for the amazing, breathtaking cinematography of Mauro Fiore.(read more...)

A creepy travelogue of exaggerated dark sides of other cultures, Wes Craven 's The Serpent and the Rainbow is a fine horror film with the scope of Indiana Jones and the attitude of Freddy Krueger.

"Inspired by a true story" (more on that in a minute), The Serpent and the Rainbow tells the tale of Dennis Allen, an ethnobotanist/anthropologist (the real guy, Wade Davis, was actually a grad student at the time) from Harvard. As you'd suspect, Allen likes to travel to exotic locales and search for little known flora-his main interest seems to be plants that have medicinal value.(read more...)

The Astronaut's Wife wants it all. To be like a 50's sci-fi invasion flick, a demonic possession film, a psychological horror movie, and a Dario Argento-ish excursion into surreal dream images. Remarkably, it almost succeeds, but a few near-mortal wounds make it lumber.

Unfortunately, the first apparent flaw emerges almost immediately. The events of the beginning of the film seem rushed. The astronaut, Spencer Armacost (Johnny Depp), and his wife, Jillian (Charlize Theron), are in bed one moment, the next minute Armacost is in space, and the moment after that she's learning that there's been a problem-"there was an explosion and we (NASA) lost contact with them for a couple minutes."(read more...)

Twenty-seven years down the pike, The Exorcist is still no easier to review. To many film fans, horror buffs or not, it is considered one of the best horror flicks, if not the best, period. It has certainly been influential in the genre, spawning everything from its own sequels, to other good series like The Omen, to not-so-good recent flicks like Bless the Child. Although it's not without its own influences -- such as Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist will always be an important film historically, and as such, should be given at least one viewing by all fans.

I'm usually not entirely enthralled by 80s teen moves and I like 80s teen horror even less. However, this enjoyable vampire romp proves to be the exception. Sure, it's not without its flaws, but it's hard to get into this movie and not have a little fun.(read more...)

When I first sat down to write my review of The Sect, I was surprised that the vivid images in my mind seemed to be fleeting. But then I realized how appropriate this is, since like almost all films that Dario Argento has a hand in, The Sect is nothing if not an extended, dark dream.(read more...)

Wicked Games is an amateur production in every sense of the word. At that, however, it is far from the worst film I've seen. Yes, the performances are terrible, the editing frequently nonexistent, the sound often difficult to hear, the poorly written score is performed on cheap keyboards, it's shot on video tape (which makes it look like a home movie), the lighting is bad, etc., but there are a few worthwhile elements here.

Director and writer Tim Ritter (who is persistent enough to have seven films behind him to date) has created a decent story that holds your interest and keeps you guessing until the end -- as long as you can stick it out for about the first 15 - 20 minutes. The beginning of the film looks more like a really bad, amateur porno with no pay-offs.(read more...)

How does a one time Professor of English at the University of Mississippi become a highly celebrated B-movie kings as well as the "Godfather of Gore"? If you are Herschell Gordon Lewis, the transition is not only simple, it’s good business.